Mark Padun has won the final stage at Critérium du
Dauphiné just 24 hours after taking victory on the penultimate stage. The Ukrainian
rider, with Bahrain Victorious, went in early breakaways on both stages before
pressing on alone and riding strongly over the climbs to victory.
He said he believed his strong form was down to the fact
he stopped focusing on his weight and made sure he fuelled as much as he needed.
Padun looked shocked after his win yesterday and seemed
even more surprised and delighted by his victory today, after
making his move from the breakaway on Joux Plane with just under 30km to
go.
He said he had had issues with weight in recent years but didn’t specify whether he was too heavy or was underweight – as some pro riders have revealed in recent seasons about various periods in their careers.
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However, Padun implied he had cut back too much on his
weight, and food, by explaining that increasing the amount of food he was
eating appeared to have improved his condition.
“It’s incredible,” he said of his two wins. “Honestly, it’s
also… I’m a young rider, I had a lot of problems with my weight in the past and
this race was also the same; the past stages I suffered. And I was feeling
empty.
“When I (realised) I felt really bad, I just go full gas
on eating. And, unexpectedly, that was what I (was missing). I missed the
energy, because the legs I have now I didn’t have (before). So I’m just 24
years and I’m not going to do that mistake anymore.”
He said he went into today’s stage and tried to forget about yesterday so he could do his best again, but this time for the team rather than for himself.
“The plan was to go in the breakaway and help Jack in the GC,” Padun said of his Australian team mate Jack Haig who began today’s final stage in 5th overall and just 34 seconds on race leader Richie Porte (Ineos Grenadiers).
Padun said when he got up the road he felt his job was
done. But his team management told him to go for the climbers’ points as he
could win the jersey in that competition.
“I said, OK, if I’m going to win it before the last
climb, then maybe I can also go for the last climb. And everything went so easy
today, to be honest.
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“Physically, it was a really hard race but mentally it was… ‘OK, yesterday I won yesterday, so today I’m going to do my job in the best possible way’.”
Padun won today’s stage by 1:36 from Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Patrick Konrad (Bora-hansgrohe).
They were 2nd and 3rd and had also been in the breakaway on the 171.1km stage
from Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux to La Plagne.
After the leading trio came the general classification
select group; Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën) attacking late from
it to take 4th place, some 1:57 down on Padun.
The select group, which included race
leader Porte, was just 13 seconds behind O’Connor, which meant Porte wrapped up
the overall victory.
He was given a scare when the only team mate he had in the group – Geraint Thomas – crashed at the end of the descent of the penultimate climb of Joux Plane.
However, Thomas got up off the deck after
his fall inside the final 10km and was able to get back into the favourites’
group. He then went to the front to ensure Porte’s rivals – Miguel Angel Lopez
(Movistar) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Premier Tech) – did not attack.
Porte won the race by 17 seconds from Lutsenko,
with Thomas retaining his 3rd overall at 29 seconds. It was the first time
Porte had won the race overall after finishing 2nd twice.
Padun claimed victory in the mountains competition, with the points classification going to his team mate Sonny Colbrelli, who won stage 3. Davide Gaudu (Groupama FDJ) was best young rider, and 9th overall.
The only Irish rider in the race was Ryan Mullen, with the Trek-Segafredo man listed as a non-finisher today. He rode very well on stage 5 when he was up the road in a breakaway for much of the stage.
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